Thomas Barker Leigh (1919 - 1944)

Ancestors

Biography

Tom Leigh was a Handley Page Halifax bomber rear gunner who was taken prisoner during the Second World War. He took part in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in March 1944, but was one of the men re-captured and subsequently shot by the Gestapo. Although born in Australia he was raised in China and England to English parents.

Thomas Barker Leigh

Thomas Barker 'Tom' Leigh was born on 11th February 1919 in Waverley, New South Wales, Australia. He was the younger son of English-born David Leigh and New South Wales-born Constance Barker, both resident in Shanghai, China. ^[1] A younger sister, Margaret, was also born in Sydney the following year. They spent most of their early childhood in Shanghai, China. The three children lived in England following their mother's death in 1926, where they attended boarding schools and spent holidays with family friends or their guardian. Their father died in 1932 at China. ^[2]

At fifteen years of age, on 30th September 1934, Tom joined Training Ship Mercury at Hamble, near Southampton, Hampshire.^[3] The interest in sailing, with the ship being near to the airfield, appears to have waned and a desire to fly grew. He left Mercury on 29th July 1935 and joined the 32nd entry of apprentices at the Royal Air Force’s No. 1 School of Technical Training at Halton, Buckinghamshire on 20th August.^[4] He passed-out (graduated) on 26th July 1938 and was attached to No. 48 Squadron as an Aircraftman 2nd Class. Following aircrew training he was posted as an air gunner to the newly-reforming No. 76 Squadron RAF in May 1941.^[5] After relocating to Middleton St George, County Durham, the squadron carried out its first operation on the night of 12-13th June. Tom was gazetted as a Sergeant and allocated service number 46462 with effect from 2nd August 1941.^[2]

On the night of 5th August, Tom was the rear air gunner on Handley Page Halifax L9516, tasked with bombing railway workshops at Karlsruhe in southwest Germany, but was shot down near Glabbeek in Belgium. Six of the seven crew members survived and became prisoners-of-war (POW). Tom was on the run for about five hours before he, like Flockhart, was caught near Worms.^[2]

By 1942, Tom had been moved to Stalag Luft III near Sagan, Lower Silesia, Germany (now Poland). On 2nd August 1942, Tom was promoted to Flying Officer^[6] and twelve months later to Flight Lieutenant.^[7] On the night of 24-25th March 1944, Tom was one of the 76 POWs who escaped through a tunnel from the stalag – The Great Escape.^[2]

Stalag Luft III

Tom was one of fifty of the re-captured escapees who were executed by the Gestapo. Tom was shot on 31st March 1944 at Lubuskie, Poland. He is commemorated at the Poznań Old Garrison Cemetery, Poznań, Miasto Poznań, Wielkopolskie, Poland. Tom is commemorated by name in the stained glass window in St George's Church, RAF Halton that is dedicated to those murdered following The Great Escape. He was Mentioned in Despatches for conspicuous gallantry as a prisoner of war (none of the other relevant decorations then available could be awarded posthumously). The citation was published in a supplement to the London Gazette on 8th June 1944.^[2]

The Great Escape Memorial

Sources

1. ↑ New South Wales BDM birth registration of LEIGH, THOMAS B, Reg. No. 22822/1919, to parents DAVID and CONSTANCE E, registered at WAVERLEY
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Wikipedia profile: Tom Leigh (RAF officer); accessed 6 Oct 2019
3. ↑ Training Ship Mercury website; accessed 6 Oct 2019
4. ↑ Wikipedia: No. 1 School of Technical Training RAF; accessed 6 Oct 2019
5. ↑ Wikipedia: No. 76 Squadron RAF; accessed 6 Oct 2019
6. ↑ London Gazette 6 Oct 1942 Supplement: 35736 Page: 4384; accessed 6 Oct 2019
7. ↑ London Gazette 7 Sep 1943 Supplement:6165age: 4014; accessed 6 Oct 2019

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 06 March 2020), memorial page for Flight Lieutenant ( Air Gnr. ) Thomas Barker Leigh (11 Feb 1919–31 Mar 1944), Find A Grave Memorial no. 20953910, citing Poznan Old Garrison Cemetery, Poznań, Miasto Poznań, Wielkopolskie, Poland ; Maintained by IWPP Custodial Account (contributor 48586138)
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Flight Lieutenant (Air Gunner), LEIGH, THOMAS BARKER, Service Number 46462, Died 31/03/1944, Aged 25, 76 Sqdn. Royal Air Force, Mentioned in Despatches, Son of David and Constance Emily Carena Leigh, of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
• http://australiansinsliii.blogspot.com/2015/02/great-escaper-thomas-barker-leigh.html